Danger by Moonlight

Filippo Veronese is son of the seventeenth-century Venetian master jeweller. His father has been away for years in the courts of the Great Mogul Shah Jehan when the family hears that he has been kidnapped by an Afghan warlord. Filippo must deliver a ransom, raising the money by selling his father’s masterpiece, a fabulous pearl and diamond pendant.

Robbed by bandits in the desert, caught up in the bloody power play of the Mogul court, Filippo has many adventures – yet the star of the book is undoubtedly the jewel, the Ocean of the Moon. Described more vividly than any of the human characters it directly influences the course of their lives remaining untouched by their suffering. Filippo’s father dies a broken man far from home, but his magnificent jewel becomes inspiration for the Taj Mahal, perfect monument to human love. The Mogul’s palace shimmering in the dawn is the final image in a book rich with images and ideas.